Sedimentation is the physical phenomenon in which suspended particles in a fluid (liquid or gas) undergo gravitational settling or deposition due to differences in density and hydrodynamic drag. It is governed by forces including gravity, buoyancy, and viscous resistance, often approximated for small, spherical particles at low Reynolds numbers by Stokes’ law. Sedimentation influences particle-size fractionation, concentration gradients, and stratification in natural and engineered systems, and is a key process in sediment transport, basin infilling, water and wastewater treatment, and laboratory separations, where it interacts with turbulence, flocculation, and chemical conditions to determine deposition rates and spatial distribution.
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